Bandgap reference cells are well known in the art. A complete explanation of the construction and operation of such cells is available in U.S. Pat. No. 3,887,863, entitled "Solid-State Regulated Voltage Supply", issued June 3, 1975. One initial problem with the Brokaw cell, as described in the above patent, is that it only operated with bipolar transistors. Eventually, the cell was adapted for the use of complimentary metal oxide (CMOS) type transistors. The standard method of producing a CMOS bandgap reference cell is to utilize parasitic NPN (P-well) bipolar transistors having collectors common with the voltage terminal. The problem that arose with bandgap reference cells employing CMOS transistors was the starting and operation of the cell. Most bandgap reference cells have two operating points: in the case of bipolar transistors they are zero and the correct (bandgap voltage) output, and in the case of CMOS transistors they may be zero or a small negative voltage and the correct (bandgap voltage) output. Many attempts have been made at designing satisfactory start circuits but they are either too complicated and expensive or they consume too much power.